American comic book police officer survival manual

"What's wrong?"

Lucius immediately grasped Pamela's hand, feeling its icy touch, and panicked.

His biggest worry was that the previous gas attack would make him a target for some malicious individuals.

"I'm fine... I'm just... suddenly a little scared."

The pale-faced girl shivered beside Lucius like a child standing in the cold wind.

Pamela didn't know what was wrong with her. She had accepted an invitation from someone she liked to go to the movies, but she felt inexplicably uneasy ever since entering the theater.

Especially after the theater went dark, the fear seemed to grow from the depths of her heart, making Pamela's thoughts become chaotic.

"Perhaps...it's a side effect of some poison gas?"

Seeing that Pamela was in extremely bad condition and had only received Harlin's diagnosis that day, Lucius immediately thought of the Scarecrow's Fear Gas.

Citizens with weak willpower seem to suffer from the aftereffects of the poison gas. Perhaps the dark setting of the movie theater caused Pamela's mental state to become abnormal.

"Should we go somewhere else? I'll take you home."

Seeing the girl beside him clenching her teeth, even her normally rosy lips turning slightly purple, Lucius couldn't help but feel a pang of self-reproach.

He seemed to be too focused on the guy hiding in the darkness and forgot to take care of the patient next to him.

"I should be... okay."

Even though her voice was starting to tremble, Pamela seemed determined not to miss her date today.

"Then we'll have to move to a different spot..."

Lucius helped the girl, whose body was trembling, up from the movie theater.

Even here, they couldn't escape that eerie gaze, and now they could only let the guy in the shadows continue.

......

On the second-floor balcony of the mall, in this brightly lit restaurant, Lucius and Pamela sat facing each other.

"Are you feeling better?"

Seeing the girl's expression gradually soften, Lucius temporarily put aside his idea of ​​finding the spy.

It was only now that he realized that this student, who usually dressed in a dowdy manner, was dressed exceptionally beautifully today.

The beautiful woman before me was wearing a white dress. The elegant gown hugged her graceful figure, and the skin on her shoulders and neck, slightly exposed, appeared even whiter and more delicate against her red hair.

The girl simply sat quietly opposite Lucius, and her elegant demeanor, along with the faint fragrance of flowers in the air, wafted into his heart.

Despite it being just a small change in her appearance, Pamela, who usually appears rather bookish, suddenly gained a certain clumsy charm.

Like a flower quietly blooming, it stirred the young man's heart.

Is there something wrong with my face?

Pamela had changed her clothes hastily before entering the cinema because they were going to have a date at the mall. When she saw Lucius looking at her with a somewhat blank expression, Pamela, still feeling a bit scared, shyly turned her head slightly, making the otherwise ordinary atmosphere a little ambiguous.

"Ah...it's nothing."

Faced with a somewhat timid and socially awkward girl, the equally awkward Lucius opened his mouth in embarrassment, but for a moment he couldn't find any topics to talk about.

In the wild and unrestrained Gotham, they were both quite "different".

"Is your fragrance a rose-based perfume? I can smell rose essential oil..."

Even though there might still be people watching from the sidelines, the bewildered Lucius was no longer able to continue playing the part. He could only try his best to remain calm and stir up the conversation to make the girl in front of him happy.

"Huh? You know a lot about plants?"

Pamela was extremely surprised that she could identify the source of the fragrance simply by smell.

[Botany Mastery unlocked 78%]

"Yes... I know a little bit."

It was precisely through his contact with Pamela that Lucius acquired this ability and gained relevant knowledge, enabling him to offer some insights into botany.

"When we first met, you smelled faintly of flowers, like the scent of a chrysanthemum?"

"Yes, I almost wrongly accused that girl because of a misunderstanding back then... I'm so grateful to you for saving me..."

Thinking of her disheveled appearance when she first met Lucius, Pamela shamefully brought her legs together, feeling quite embarrassed.

However... it was indeed after that incident that Pamela realized Lucius was such a thoughtful companion, valuing life just like herself, instead of carelessly trampling on plants...

But... has he always been so concerned about his own scent?

Pamela carefully raised her right hand and sniffed it gently, as if afraid that she might still have some strange smell on her.

Faced with such a girl, Lucius smiled and steered the conversation in a way that prevented Pamela from falling further into fear:

"Has anything happy happened lately?"

"Ah...yes, Professor Wood needs my help with something. If all goes well, I might be able to get a letter of introduction to Harvard University."

"Oh? Isn't that great? With these conditions, you can go to Harvard University for further studies and leave Gotham to avoid getting involved in similar incidents again."

Lucius was genuinely surprised that Pamela was so highly regarded by her tutors at the academy.

For ordinary people, it's best to leave a dangerous city like Gotham and not stay there for long.

Even from a friend's perspective, Lucius was genuinely happy for Pamela's potential future achievements.

"right..."

With that, I can go on to study at my beloved Harvard University.

But if I do that, won't I have to leave Gotham?

Pamela belatedly realized this, and a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes.

Noticing the girl's somewhat reluctant expression, Lucius wisely changed the subject and started talking about the plants she cared about.

Soon, Pamela, her interest piqued by the reading, forgot about her worries about leaving Gotham and happily chatted with her sweetheart about various flowers...

The pleasant dinner proceeded smoothly in this atmosphere...

......

After forgetting about the possible "voyeur," the night's date went exceptionally smoothly.

Lucius, fulfilling his duties as a partner, escorted Pamela all the way home before finally saying his final goodbye.

"be safe."

"Um!"

Pamela, who was being watched, waved and walked up the stairs, her smile never fading since she left the theater.

It wasn't until Pamela disappeared from sight that Lucius, relieved, realized that the feeling of being watched seemed to have vanished without him noticing.

"strangeness..."

Puzzled, Lucius walked toward his car, intending to go home and rest, when he suddenly heard another call.

"Hey..."

Pamela, who had returned, blushed slightly and smiled and waved at the entrance of the building.

"Is something the matter? Did you forget something?"

Smiling, Lucius closed the car door and slowly walked downstairs towards Pamela.

Unlike her previous shyness on dates, the girl now seemed to have a touch of youthful charm on her face.

For some inexplicable reason, something suddenly came to Lucius's mind.

Nowadays.

Is it a "lucky day" on the first day of each month?

His heart skipped a beat and then suddenly raced. Looking at that rosy-cheeked face, the man's emotions became somewhat strange.

His smile froze slightly, Lucius slowed his pace, and looked at the girl waving from downstairs.

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling the girl's wine-red hair... and causing Lucius's pupils to constrict sharply—

They look exactly the same.

Completely identical attire.

But there was only that faint floral fragrance.

No.

Facing the 'woman' downstairs, with only a chilling aura behind him, Lucius's mind flashed through countless fragments recorded in his diary—

An event that occurs on this day every month...

I can still feel that sense of being watched all day.

All of them.

This person?!

Looking at that beautiful woman with a beaming smile, Lucius felt a chill run down his spine and took several steps back—

"Who...who are you?!"

......